Firewood Exploitation Research Articles

Socio-economic and environmental influences of firewood exploitation in Bongor and its surroundings (Chad)

A study on the socio-economic and environmental influence of firewood exploitation was conducted in Bongor and three surrounding villages (Guizédé, Moudassi Foulbé and Tchikali II). Objectives were to identify and quantify the main exploited plants species for firewood, to evaluate the socio-economic and environmental effects of this exploitation, and to propose participative methods of sustainable management. Ten logging concessions were selected for socio-economic and environmental surveys. Vegetation surveys were carried out in three sites (light, medium and heavy firewood) in three villages (Guizédé, Tchikali II and Moudassi Foulbé) on the dendrometric parameters of the 50 m x 50 m surfaces arranged in different ways. Static analysis of the data showed that Piliostigma thonningii (55.26%), Anogeissus leiocarpus (37.94%), Combretum sp. (33.21%) and Guiera senegalensis (22.58%) are the most exploited species for fire wood. Bongor is the distribution and sales center for wood (166.52 t / year). This sale is worth 26485732 (FCFA) per year for the city of Bongor. The exploitation of firewood had harmful consequences on the environment and biodiversity especially climate change (30%), reduction of soil fertility (28%), disappearance of fauna and flora (29%), soil degradation and desertification (27.5%). The vegetal species like Hyphaene thebaica, Celtis integrifolia, Acacia albida, Acacia seyal and animals like horse antelope, elephant and buffalo are about to disappear. Forest management in the city of Bongor and surrounding areas involves local people, and traditional and administrative authorities.

Reconstruction of woodland vegetation and firewood exploitation in Nine Mile Canyon, Utah, based on charcoal and pollen analysis

Anthracological (charcoal) and pollen analysis conducted on samples from multiple sites in Nine Mile Canyon, Utah, western United States of America, were used to reconstruct the woodlands of this region and interpret firewood exploitation during the Formative period (∼ AD 200–1300). The pollen record identifies constituents of the paleoenvironment of this region, reflecting species that grew in the vicinity of the site and in the broader area. Wood charcoal reflects various trees and shrubs that were used as fuel or for construction by the prehistoric occupants settled in Nine Mile Canyon. Pollen results elucidate a portion of the spectrum of wood taxa, which varies in different parts of the canyon, depending on elevation and the canyon's topography. While micro-charcoal analysis has a long and rich tradition in association with pollen analysis, anthracological analysis is different in that it focuses on macroscopic pieces of archaeological charcoal. Here, anthracology, using SEM imagery, helps define local woody taxa by identifying macroscopic pieces of archaeological charcoal. These two analytical tools build a complementary record of local woodland vegetation through aerial pollen transport and fuel wood selection. While the pollen record is affected by aerial transport, the anthracological assemblages, in most cases, reflect species growing in the vicinity of the prehistoric settlements, but can be affected by natural transport within the drainage. Recovery of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) charcoal from the lower portions of the canyon, containing steep walls and natural conditions not favorable for Douglas-fir growth, indicates presence of drift-wood or debris-flow deposits.

Anthraco-typology as a key approach to past firewood exploitation and woodland management reconstructions. Dendrological reference dataset modelling with dendro-anthracological tools

Charcoal analysis aims to study different aspects of forest management, techno-economical choices and their specific impact on past landscapes, as well as the impact of climatic events. However, at the present time, charcoal analysis is generally limited to the study of a list of taxa and their relative frequency, as the methods usually employed in dendrochronology to characterize past woodland, based on long tree-ring series, are not suitable for anthracological material. Today, the new challenge for charcoal analysis is thus to develop adapted dendrological tools. In this context, the aim of the ANR DENDRAC project “Development of dendrometrical tools applied to anthracology: study of the interactions between Man, resources and environments” was to characterize modern-day wood stands in accordance with historical woodland practices and convert dendroecological data into parameters adapted to charcoal analysis. The purpose of this study is to define the dendrological features with the help of the anthracological tools without explaining the observed differences between the sampled stands (given the stational variability, age and regeneration modes). The first step consisted in creating dendro-anthracological tools based on morpho-anatomical criteria that help to characterize growth, distinguish heartwood from sapwood and evaluate charcoal-pith distance. The second step involves characterizing three modern-day wood stands (coppice under standard, high forest and young stand formed by a mixture of seeded and coppice trees), defined by their structure, stand density and regeneration modes, using dendrological data measured on fresh wood material and modelled into anthracological data with the dendro-anthracological tools. In this way, anthracological types were defined for each wood stand, forming anthraco-typological models, which area useful for the interpretation of archaeological charcoal assemblages. Finally, an anthracological key is proposed to sort archaeological charcoal fragments in anthraco-groups before data processing.

Contribution of tyloses quantification in earlywood oak vessels to archaeological charcoal analyses: Estimation of a minimum age and influences of physiological and environmental factors

Among the main parameters contributing to the characterization of firewood exploitation modes, the age of the collected wood is very difficult to assess in anthracology. In this paper, we propose an original way to investigate the age of the exploited wood, the heartwood formation process which takes place in 20–25-year-old deciduous oak trees. The formation of tyloses in earlywood vessels is an important feature of the changeover of sapwood to heartwood. However, tylosis formation also occurs in sapwood. Therefore, the observation of the mere presence of tyloses in vessels, as routinely performed in anthracology, is not sufficient to distinguish sapwood from heartwood. The aim of this study was thus to use the proportion of vessels sealed by tyloses as a discriminating marker between sapwood and heartwood applicable to anthracology in order to characterize firewood exploitation in the past. The trunks and branches of ten deciduous oak trees ranging from 15 to 60 years old were sampled in three French sites. For an application to archaeological charcoal (tyloses are preserved until 800 °C), thresholds of less than 65% for sapwood and up to 85% for heartwood appear to be significant at the population level for deciduous oak (Quercus petraea/robur) in a temperate climate. Besides the indication of the minimal age (ca. 25 years old in the case of deciduous oak), the variability of the proportion of vessels with tyloses in sapwood is explored as a good indicator of the vitality of the wood which opens new prospects for the exploitation of dendro-anthracological parameters, such as the discrimination of branch wood.

Interdisciplinary approach to the landscape and firewood exploitation during the Holocene at La Garrotxa (Girona, NE Iberia)

This paper assesses the landscape and management of firewood resources during the Holocene at La Garrotxa (Girona, NE Iberia), a middle mountain region (400-1600 m a.s.l.) located within a volcanic area in the Pre-Pyrenees. Anthracological and palynological data from archaeological sites and lacustrine and peat deposits in this area have been considered in an interdisciplinary approach to the landscape and use of resources. According to Early Holocene palynological data, the landscape was characterised by the progressive expansion of forests, mainly dominated by conifers (pine and juniper) and deciduous trees (oak and hazel). The Holocene Climatic Optimum led to the culmination of forest expansion, with the dominance of dense oak forests, the landscape that the first farming societies found on arrival in this area. During the Middle to Late Holocene transition (c. 4000 cal BP), the expansion of evergreen sclerophyllous trees and the regression of broadleaf deciduous trees are recorded, in response to both climatic and anthropic causes. Deciduous Quercus and Buxus sempervirens were the most important taxa in all periods and areas, as shown in charcoal data from 26 archaeological levels. However, some other taxa had certain importance in some periods and sites. The variability observed between sites is discussed in terms of the availability of resources and the transformation of landscape evidenced in pollen records. This could explain the appearance of evergreen Quercus and other Mediterranean taxa in the Middle-Late Holocene anthracological record. The characteristics of the sites and socio-historical processes have also been considered in order to understand the use of firewood. In that sense, social necessities would have been the determining factor in planning timber and firewood procurement strategies rather than adapting to the environmental availability.

Vegetation, firewood exploitation and human settlement in northern Spain in relation to Holocene climate and cultural dynamics

Charcoal data from archaeological sites located in the Cantabrian region (N Spain) presented aims to reconstruct the interactions between climate dynamics, vegetal landscape and woodland exploitation developed by humans throughout the different Holocene cultural stages. The transition to the Holocene was a period of important changes. The increase in temperature and moisture implied the expansion of deciduous Quercus over the previous pioneer taxa Pinus and/or Betula, coinciding with the Azilian-Mesolithic cultural transition in the Cantabrian region. The development of deciduous oak woods recorded during the Holocene climatic optimum was reported as the main vegetation formation exploited by Cantabrian Mesolithic and Neolithic groups. The different geographical locations of the sites (shoreline, pre-littoral elevations/inner Atlantic valleys and uppermost intra-mountain valleys) as well as their topographic features, substrate, slope orientation and altitude explain the floristic variations observed in the anthracological assemblage. The Chalcolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages were characterised by an intensification of the exploitation of the same plant ecosystems especially those of shrubby plants. Their dominance over arboreal taxa indicates the increasing human pressure on the vegetal communities which may have been mainly related to itinerant livestock herding practises in the area.

The Socio Economic and Environmental Impacts of Firewood Exploitation from the Ndjamena Supply Basin as Wood Energy (Chad)

This research aims to examining: i) the domestic energy source used by local population, ii) the causes and appropriate moment of firewood exploitation, iii) the impact of firewood exploitation on the floristic composition and structure and ecological characterization of the vegetation, iv) look for ways and means of cogestion for a development plan for firewood exploitation The socio economic surveys were carried out with the help of 210 people some different market selected. The floristic note were achieved by the transect method. The experimental devise is a split plot with 4 factors (formation of vegetation) 3 processing’s (particles) and 3 sites (villages) in each village. 12 portions of 50m × 50m were delimited and located with the help of some stakes for chest height. The result pointed out that agriculture (95.83%) and the need in firewood (52.83±23.93) are the mains causes of firewood exploitation. The drop in vegetation and fall in forestry non woody species product (75.8%) and the temperature increase (74.0%) were the consequence of exploitation of firewood. The variety indices of the floristic resources are higher in virgin forest than in gallery forest but lower in shrub savannahs where deforestation is considerable. The vegetation structure was an “L” form with a good regeneration of new growing trees. A development plan was set up for a sustainable management of the platform.

7000 years of vegetation history and land-use changes in the Morvan Mountains (France): A regional synthesis

This paper aims to reconstruct the vegetation history of a middle mountain – the Morvan (Burgundy, France) – since the Neolithic (i.e. 7000 years). The results of palynological and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) analysis performed on 10 peat cores document the main phases of human agro-pastoral practices and natural resources management which drove the formation of the cultural landscape of the Morvan Massif over time. To document the history of human activities at a regional scale, particular attention was given to the determination, the characterization and the graphical depiction of phrases of human impact. Both the quantification of the impact of human pressure and the chronological uncertainty of the different phases identified by pollen and NPP analysis were taken into account. This study reveals a clear human presence during periods that were formerly poorly documented, such as the onset of the Neolithic period, the Bronze Age, the early Iron Age and the early Middle Ages. It also sheds new light over periods for which there is better archaeological and historical knowledge, such as the widespread occupation of the massif in the late Iron Age, the cultivation of chestnut from the 11th to the 16th century and the impact of modern firewood exploitation on the forest.

The economic relevance of sustainable agroforestry practices — An empirical analysis from Tanzania

This paper investigates the economic relevance of sustainable behavior of agroforestry practices for smallholders using the example of firewood exploitation in rural Tanzania. Three questions are addressed: (1) To what extent do households behave sustainably regarding firewood extraction from agroforestry? (2) Which factors determine the likelihood of households practicing sustainable agroforestry? (3) Are sustainably behaving households better off in terms of income compared to households practicing unsustainable agroforestry? The analysis is based on cross-sectional data of 314 households. A sustainability indicator shows that the share of sustainable households varies between 14 and 41% depending on the underlying wood growth rate. The results of the logistic regression indicate that property rights regarding the ownership of agricultural land and environmental awareness increase the likelihood of sustainable firewood extraction. Empirical evidence from the quantile regression reveals that poorest households generate higher income if they extract firewood unsustainably. The opposite is true for households of upper income percentiles. Thus, the poor are likely to increase environmental degradation to generate more income causing a ‘downward spiral’ of the poverty–environment trap resulting in income losses in the long run. Households with a per capita income of 524 TZS or more manage their tree stocks sustainably.

Degradasi Hutan Bakau Akibat Pengambilan Kayu Bakar oleh Indutri Kecil Gula Kelapa di Cilacap

A study on degradations mangrove forest due to firewood exploitation by coconut palm sugar home industry in Cilacap. Information on social economic aspect and respons of coconut palm sugar home industry to using fuel substitutions were collected by using a questioner. The potential of mangrove as a firewood source was estimated by quadrat method. The study has been carried out on dry and rainy season. The wood production of available 8000 ha of mangrove from Cilacap primarily Rhizophora apiculata Linn and Rhizophora mucronata Lamk were 3.249.920 m³. The results showed that the declining of mangrove was about 19,250 m² in dry season and 26,551 m² in rainy season, this was correlated with the amount of nira to be processed that was 0,782 m³ in dry season and 1,079 m³ in rainy season. Deforestation of mangrove forest due to change of mangrove zonation. Rhizophora apiculata Linn and Rhizophora mucronata Lamk will be domination Nypa fruticans that is shown superficiality to continent form.

Simulation of the effect of scale deposition on a geothermal turbine : Kubiak, J. A. and Urquiza-beltràn, G. Geothermics, 2002, 31, (5), 545–562

Among the main parameters contributing to the characterization of firewood exploitation modes, the age of the collected wood is very difficult to assess in anthracology. In this paper, we propose an original way to investigate the age of the exploited wood, the heartwood formation process which takes place in 20–25-year-old deciduous oak trees. The formation of tyloses in earlywood vessels is an important feature of the changeover of sapwood to heartwood. However, tylosis formation also occurs in sapwood. Therefore, the observation of the mere presence of tyloses in vessels, as routinely performed in anthracology, is not sufficient to distinguish sapwood from heartwood. The aim of this study was thus to use the proportion of vessels sealed by tyloses as a discriminating marker between sapwood and heartwood applicable to anthracology in order to characterize firewood exploitation in the past. The trunks and branches of ten deciduous oak trees ranging from 15 to 60 years old were sampled in three French sites. For an application to archaeological charcoal (tyloses are preserved until 800 °C), thresholds of less than 65% for sapwood and up to 85% for heartwood appear to be significant at the population level for deciduous oak (Quercus petraea/robur) in a temperate climate. Besides the indication of the minimal age (ca. 25 years old in the case of deciduous oak), the variability of the proportion of vessels with tyloses in sapwood is explored as a good indicator of the vitality of the wood which opens new prospects for the exploitation of dendro-anthracological parameters, such as the discrimination of branch wood.

Woodland vegetation and fuel exploitation at the prehistoric campsite of Pınarbaşı, south-central Anatolia, Turkey: the evidence from the wood charcoal macro-remains

This paper presents the results of the analysis of wood charcoal macro-remains from the multi-period prehistoric rock shelters of Pınarbaşı in the Konya plain, south-central Anatolia. Retrieval and analytical methods are also reported in detail, together with some methodologies previously untested in the field of charcoal analysis aiming at the quantitative description of context-related variation in the preservation status of archaeological wood charcoal assemblages. The patterns observed in the charcoal record are interpreted as a reflection of the prehistoric strategies for firewood exploitation in their local and regional palaeoenvironmental context.

Towards an understanding of man-firewood relations in Freetown (Sierra Leone)

This paper examines ‘folk’ evaluation and classification of firewood as a means towards understanding man-firewood relations in Freetown. It demonstrates how access to ‘wood views’ renders comprehensible identifiable spatial and temporal patterns in firewood exploitation and utilisation. It is argued that the extension of the ethno-scientific approach beyond mere identification of wood categories to the examination of the relationship between cognition and action generates information capable of informing efforts towards short-term gains and/or long-term development policy aimed at a more efficient management and utilisation of the firewood resource. The article concludes by emphasising the need for an understanding of the view both from ‘above’ (technological forestry) and ‘below’ (folk ecology) of man-firewood relationships in the Freetown area in order that meaningful co-operative modifications based on a blend of sodo-cultural and ecological considerations, on the one hand, and economic and technological factors on the other, can be effected.